Geisinger Health System and Holy Spirit Health System, Camp Hill, Pa., have signed a definitive agreement that will convert Holy Spirit into an affiliate of the Geisinger network.
The two organizations had signed a letter of intent for the deal in September. The next step now is obtaining regulatory approval from the Pennsylvania attorney general's office, which system officials expect will go through in the next 30-45 days.
Holy Spirit is located about 70 miles south of Geisinger's Danville, Pa., headquarters. Holy Spirit fits Geisinger's growth strategy because Holy Spirit has a relatively strong financial position, is in a growing market, and needs help in managing the health of its population. “What we want to do is to bring higher quality for lower cost into that market,” Geisinger President and CEO Dr. Glenn Steele Jr. said in a media call. “We think that we have some structural advantages working together with Holy Spirit to do that.”